A New Generation
by Heart of Magic
Summary: Nerissa had been held off, but not stopped by W.I.T.C.H. Now, a new generation of Guardians will take on the evil exGuardian. When I think of a better title, I will rename it. Btw, General to me means a little of everything... R & R please!
1. Twisted World

Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H; I just own the characters and subplots. Except Nerissa.

My author notes are on my profile, as is a reader's guide to the new generation.

Chapter One-Twisted World

Language Arts. Fourth period and death to the easily bored. That was the class that the eight graders at Saint Katherine's School in Clearwater were currently in. Some were paying attention. Hayleigh was not. She was doodling on her notebook page with a few brightly colored markers. Although she was right in the front of the room, the teacher didn't seem to notice her oblivious state. That was good.

Hayleigh looked up, brushing a strand of blonde hair back into her still-damp ponytail. She watched her friends carefully. Lacey was staring dully at Ms. Carson with glassy hazel eyes, her freckled cheek propped on her hand. Mandy watched the teacher attentively, occasionally bending her head the jot something down, brown curls spilling onto her desk. On the opposite side of the tiny classroom, Kelsey sat with her legs crossed, examining her hair, which she constantly insisted was dirty blonde, although light brown was a closer estimate. Behind her, Julia was absently scribbling something in her notebook; knowing her it was notes.

Eventually tiring of this activity, Hayleigh's blue-green eyes traveled back to her notebook page and she gasped inwardly. The things she drew were usually strange, but not as precise as these! It almost seemed as if she had been copying those weird hieroglyphics from somewhere. But of course she hadn't been. Actually, she thought as she studied her drawing, these were just like the symbols she had drawn all over her graph paper in Algebra this morning. But this time they were in five bubbles, arranged in a square with on in the middle.

There was the turquoise swirl shaped like a small 'c' with a long tail thing. And next to it, the unfinished triangle that she had sketched in orange. Forming one bottom corner of the square was a green circle with a dot in the middle. Finishing the box was another swirl, but more tightly coiled and in light blue. But her favorite was the one in the middle. It was hot pink, shaped like parentheses, except flipped so that one was on top of the other, the open sides facing each other.

Then she frowned. Something was missing from this picture, but what? Hayleigh began to draw again. First came a circle. Then a rim that encased half of the orb. Another piece of this rim descended into the circle about halfway down. A loop for a chain finished it. As the bell rang, questions invaded her mind. It looked like a necklace of some kind, but why had she drawn it? Why had she drawn any of these shapes for that matter?

Friday nights were definitely the best nights to cheer. Especially when Café Java was involved! Kelsey smiled at her reflection in the mirror that hung on the lavender wall of her bedroom, and then sank back onto her daybed. She was all ready for cheerleading in her blue, white, and silver uniform consisting of a cute little skirt, body liner, and shell. Of course, her chestnut boots were not part of the outfit, but they weren't allowed to wear their pure white dance sneakers outside, so she wore these until she got to the school.

Walking to her dresser, Kelsey brushed some sparkles on her pale cheeks. Oh, she hoped Matt would be there tonight! Every time she thought of her boyfriend her heart leapt.

"Kelsey, it's time to leave!" Her mother's voice jolted Kelsey's thoughts away from Matt, sadly. She grabbed her royal blue bag and dashed downstairs and out the door. Being the klutz that she was, of course she slipped on the icy pavement and fell.

"Oof!" One hand hit her driveway, and the other her snow-covered grass. She inspected herself carefully before pushing herself up and starting towards the car.

Then Kelsey stopped. She could hear rustling trees behind her. But the sound was too close to be coming from the woods beside her house. Turning slowly, the girl gasped. Where her hand had touched the grass, the snow was completely melted away. A tall flowering shrub had appeared on the lawn! It sparkled with celery green light. Kelsey slowly turned her hazel eyes on her hands. They too sparkled with emerald light.

"Did I do that?" she whispered. Then she shook her head vigorously and got in the car. No, she couldn't have. But the thought stayed in her mind, no matter how much she assured herself that she was going crazy or something. What was wrong with her?

Wow, the gym was crowded. Mandy made her way through all the people to the school kitchen. That was where the cheerleaders stayed before the game. Dumping her bag on the ground, she went to join Kelsey and Hayleigh over by the sink. Lacey wasn't here yet, but that was normal. And Julia didn't cheer. She usually came, but tonight she was at her grandparents' house.

Mandy leaned against the metal countertop. "I can't wait for Café Java later!" she squealed.

Hayleigh nodded, her ponytail bouncing against her back. "I hope we get comfy chairs…"

"I call one!" Kelsey interrupted.

"But you got one last time!" Hayleigh protested. Mandy rolled her eyes. Hayleigh and Kelsey fought all the time. Not really, of course. Just little squabbles that usually ended in a smack on the head for Kelsey.

Tuning out her friends' bickering, Mandy turned the faucet on and off idly. She swirled her fingers through the water. Immediately, a strange feeling filled her. Almost like an electric shock, except it didn't hurt. Curious, Mandy took her hand away from the water to inspect it.

Or she would have, if the water hadn't followed her hand right out of the sink! Mandy squeezed her eyes shut, and opened them again. But the thin stream of water was still there, apparently frozen in midair.

"What the…?" she whispered.

Suddenly a shout broke her trance. "Lacey!" Kelsey yelled. The water sloshed back into the sink.

"Come on! I'm going out," Kelsey said, tugging Hayleigh's arm. "Are you coming Mandy?"

"Uh, yeah… I'll be right there." Mandy said, shaking the fog out of her head. Hayleigh skipped out of the kitchen, grabbing her blue and silver pom-poms on the way out. Kelsey followed.

Mandy turned her mind back to the pressing problem. Why did the water follow her hand? What was happening to her?

"It's freezing!" Lacey shivered, clutching Hayleigh's arm. "And it's so foggy."

Hayleigh nodded. "Come on, let's get inside." She sprinted towards the coffee shop, slipping in the door just as someone walked out.

Lacey followed, happily anticipating her Double Chocolate Frapuchino. Yummy! It made her mouth water just to think about it.

Lacey loved everything about this place. She loved the coffee smell, and the warm décor. She loved the comfy green armchairs set up on either side of the big fireplace. But most of all, she loved the fireplace itself. It warmed her inside and out with its cheerfully crackling flames and soft glow.

"Yes! Comfy chairs!" Lacey took off her fluffy pink coat and threw it on the chair. "That one's mine!" Kelsey plopped down in the other one. She already had her favorite drink, Mocha Chip.

"I called one before," she explained, even though no one was challenging her possession of the best seat. Lacey joined her a few minutes later; Hayleigh and Mandy were still on line.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Kelsey announced suddenly. She walked towards the back of the store. Lacey shrugged and watched the dancing flames.

Fire was very beautiful, she noticed, even though it had a bad reputation for being dangerous. But it was warm, and just to see the red and orange leap around the blue heart of the fire comforted her.

The door opened again, letting in a whistling wind. The fire sizzled out. Only smoke remained. Lacey frowned. Now she was cold. She glared at the door and then turned back to the empty grate.

"_I wish the fire was still there! I'm freezing again," _she thought. With a whoosh of fiery orange light a flame appeared on the very bottom log. It grew and grew, higher and higher until it had reached its old size.

Usually fire reassured her. But not now. What had just happened?

Seeing Kelsey, followed by Mandy and Hayleigh, she pushed the thought away. But it nagged her all throughout her friend's gossip. What had made the fire jump back to life? It couldn't have been her… could it?

Alright. I have almost eleven chapters of this story written. If I get 3 reviews, I'll update. So please review. Praise and constructive criticism welcomed. Meanness is not. (Is that flaming? I'm new to this. If so, no flaming.)


	2. Discovery

**This is an edited chapter. I changed their outfits a bit, because I read the rest of the comics and realized that the generations don't wear the same things. The new parts look like_ this._ **

**Disclaimer- W.I.T.C.H. is not mine. Too bad, cause it is an awesome idea.

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Chapter Two-Discovery

"What is that?" Kelsey asked, studying her computer screen. It looked like a house, but then why was it on this video site?

Then a bomb exploded on the screen. Lacey and Kelsey watched it openmouthed at first, and then lost control. They were hysterical.

"Shut up…" came Mandy's groan from the couch. "It's 3 o'clock in the morning!"

This only caused the laughter to get louder. Hayleigh stood up and whacked both of them with her pillow. "I'm tired!" she complained.

Kelsey rubbed her head. "One more!" she promised. "But…" she hesitated. "You all have to watch it with us!"

Hayleigh sighed. "Alright, fine!" She walked back to the couch and shook Julia awake. The girl yawned widely, and her rosy cheeks were paler than usual, but she stood up and joined her friends in front of the computer screen. Mandy was already sitting in a chair she had pulled over from the table.

Kelsey scrolled down the list of videos. Half of them were in different languages! But she soon saw one that caught her attention and nudged Lacey.

"How about that one?" The video she had pointed to showed a picture of five bubble-type things with little colorful shapes in the middle. It was labeled 'Candracar'.

"Candracar?" Lacey said confused. "What's that?"

Kelsey shrugged, and clicked on the video. The familiar black screen appeared, and the title 'Candracar' again. But there was no names listed. The video started right away.

A voice boomed through the basement. It was cold and expressionless, as if it were reciting a picture book and not the shocking things it was expressing.

"It had been 70 years since the most famous Guardians defeated Prince Phobos and placed the Light of Meridian on the throne of Metamoore, restoring order there once and for all. Or so they thought.

The Light of Meridian has been missing for over 50 years. Three groups of Guardians have tried and failed to unite and find her. A new evil is abroad, and the world of Metamoore is losing hope. The Veil has been recreated, but the lack of sufficient power in the Guardians has made it weak. And Nerissa, the evil ex-Guardian, has gathered her own and Phobos's supporters and seized the throne.

But there is hope. The time has come to pass on Guardianship to a new group. If all goes well, peace will be restored. But if not, both worlds will be destroyed. They are the last hope."

It echoed around the stunned faces of the five girls. But it wasn't finished yet.

Hayleigh gasped as her drawings came to life. There was that necklace, and four bubbles bearing the symbols she had drawn. They rotated around the medallion as if it were the sun. But where was the fifth symbol? Her question was soon to be answered. But what the voice would say next would create more questions than she had ever had before.

The first bubble, the turquoise one, floated to rest in front of a very surprised Mandy. Her face, which had been tired, lit up for a moment as the little orb cast a warm glow over her.

"To you, Mandy," the voice said, "The power of water, fluid and unmanageable." One of her hands rose shakily. A stream of water shot out, hitting Julia. Strangely enough, she remained dry.

The second bubble, the orange one, hovered over to Lacey. Her face also lit up, and her eyes widened.

"The difficult power of fire." The rug beneath her feet burst into flames, and everyone else leapt back in surprise. But the flames fizzled out a second, leaving no sign that they had ever been there.

The third bubble, green in color, came to rest in front of Kelsey. She looked like Matt had popped out of the ceiling and surprised her with a kiss. The happiness was quickly replaced by shock, however, when a vine burst from the floor and wrapped around her leg.

"The firm power of earth," the voice stated calmly.

"Ahhh!" she cried, pulling the vine away. The floor sucked it back up again, and the hole sealed as if it had never been there.

The forth, light blue orb belonged to Julia. As it came to her and made her pretty face glow, a previously nonexistent wind blew her hair back. The papers on the desk ruffled in this breeze.

"The power of air, light and free."

Hayleigh's question was now to be answered. The hot pink parentheses appeared inside the necklace's empty glass orb, which now flared with fire of the same color. As it floated toward her, hovering above her outstretched palms, the charm shot out rays of the same fire that filled it. Hayleigh's golden hair floated around her head like a halo, her eyes expanded and sparkled with the light from the medallion, and a beautiful smile formed on her lips.

"And the Keeper of the Heart of Candracar, the leader of them all." With this last sentence, the voice fell silent and the screen turned black again. Each girl's bubble, and in Hayleigh's case the Heart of Candracar, floated to rest on her heart. With a final eerie note, each sent a beam of light into the center of their tight circle, and then disappeared.

With that, the girls regained their senses, and their surprise.

"What was that?" Lacey asked hesitantly. She looked scared.

Before anyone could answer her, if anyone could, Kelsey's mom appeared at the foot of the stairs.

"Girls," she said sternly. "It's time to go to sleep. You have midterms this week." She turned and walked back up the stairs. Hayleigh was the first to recover. She lay down on the couch, but did not close her eyes. Instead she stared up at the ceiling.

Her friends joined her, curling up in the various places they had scattered their sleeping bags.

"Did you just see…" she asked finally, "what I did?"

No one answered for a minute. Then…

"I wish I didn't," Kelsey said. "But yes."

Lacey nodded in agreement and Julia said, "Me too." But Mandy was stubborn, as always.

"I think we are way too tired. Powers? Guardians? Candracar? Someone has a few screws loose."

"But Mandy!" Hayleigh protested. "We have proof. That this is all true!"

"We do?" Mandy asked skeptically.

"The Heart of Candracar is still with me. I feel it." Then she sat up and cupped her hands.

The orb appeared, floating easily above her hands. She smiled, although her new power scared her. "Look Mandy. You have power over water now."

Mandy responded by covering her head with a pillow. Hayleigh shrugged and held up the Heart to inspect it further.

"What do you think it does?" she asked quietly. No one answered. No one could answer.

But suddenly Hayleigh cried out. "Guardians unite!"

The Heart of Candracar began to float above their heads. The teardrops separated from it and flew towards the girls whose magic they represented. Hayleigh felt herself being lifted into the air. She felt warm energy all around her, as she watched her friends.

Julia looked as if in the middle of a gentle warm tornado. She had thrown back her head in happy laughter and her now longer hair was swirling around her. Mandy's power made a watery globe around her. Hayleigh saw her face change from stubborn to commanding in an instant. Kelsey was surrounded by vine-like green light. Her face was surprised but glowing with excitement. Lacey's firepower spun around her, her face determined.

But then Hayleigh couldn't watch anymore. Her own transformation was beginning. She curled up in a ball and hugged her knees involuntarily. She felt her limbs lengthening, her face maturing, and her hair growing longer. Then she was free.

"What just happened?" she asked her friends. Then she looked at them.

**_Julia's hair had remained at its longer length and her eyes were brighter. She wore a turquoise shirt, with triangular straps held by brassy buttons, and purple capri pants. Under those were blue and green striped tights and short purple boots._**

**_Mandy's hair was beautifully curled, and longer than it had previously been. Her freckles had faded, and the expression on her face read 'leader'. Her clothes had also been exchanged for a turquoise halter top and purple shorts, with striped knee socks and purple Mary Janes._**

**_Kelsey was already pretty, the one all the boys went after. But she looked happier, and older. She wore a turquoise tube-top and a short, spiky-hemmed purple skirt. She also wore the striped tights, and purple boots slightly higher than Mandy's._**

**_Lacey's usually thick, frizzy hair was silky and smooth, letting its beautiful auburn color shine through. It was longer, and in slightly looser curls. Her outfit consisted of a purple top with one short sleeve and one spaghetti strap and turquoise skirt with striped tights and chunky purple boots._**

The girls stood still for a minute, gaping. Finally,

"Does anyone have a mirror?" Lacey asked. "If you guys look like that, what do I look like?"

Kelsey nodded mutely and pointed down the hall to the bathroom. Hayleigh arrived first, and froze in the doorway.

"Oh my…" Her hair fell to her waist in loose curls. Her face was the same as she would imagine it would look like in a few years, with plumped up cheekbones and no freckles. And her figure was definitely matured also.

_**But the coolest was the clothes. She was wearing a purple shirt with one bell-sleeve and one spaghetti strap and a turquoise miniskirt. Her newly long and muscular legs were covered with striped tights. Her slippers had turned into purple boots.**_

There was one part, however, that everyone had overlooked so far. Well, almost everyone.

"We have wings!" Julia exclaimed.

And they did. Beautiful multicolored wings had sprouted effortlessly from their backs. They seemed to be made of light and cloud rather than flesh and bone.

The moment was interrupted by footsteps on the stairs. Hayleigh whirled to face her friends, eyes wide with fear.

"What do we do?" she whispered urgently.

Mandy sniffed. "Well, _leader_, I thought you had all the answers.

Hayleigh glared at her and was about to make an angry retort, but Lacey grabbed her arm.

"We have to change back!"

Hayleigh nodded. But how to change back? In desperation, she closed her eyes and begged the stupid crystal to do something.

Feeling somewhat different, Hayleigh opened one eye hesitantly. Then she sighed with relief. They were normal again. And Mrs. Coaern had just appeared once again at the foot of the stairs.

"Girls. Bedtime," she said strictly. Then she stood there until each girl was in her sleeping back with her eyes closed.

"Goodnight." Kelsey's mom walked upstairs.

Needless to say, it took a long time for anyone to sleep that night.

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**Review!**


	3. An Unexpected Spy

**Disclaimer: W.I.T.C.H. not mine**

**Thanks scottgrubb and IxAmxYasha for reviewing!

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Chapter Three- An Unexpected Spy

Monday morning dawned clear and cold over Clearwater. It was wonderful. Or it would have been, if the seventh and eighth graders didn't have dreaded midterms!

One eighth grader in particular was worried. Alison Mark had been sick over the weekend, and she was never that great of a student in the first place. This paired with the fact that her two best friends, Callie Brennan and Brooke Lars, no longer seemed to like her. Things had gotten weirder lately.

It probably started when Matt, her former guy friend who she kinda sorta had a crush on, started going out with Kelsey. Since Kelsey was already her enemy, this didn't start anything good. Especially since she had beaten Alison in the Student Council Election. And then Hayleigh had beaten Callie, making her enemies the top people in the school. Except for the President of the Student Council. Which, luckily, was none other than Brooke. But still, this year hadn't been the best. And now this.

The walk to the bus stop was long and boring, so Alison had plenty of time to think about these things. Until that is, a voice called to her through the bushes.

"Alison." It was a whisper, barely audible.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" she asked, peering through the shrubbery.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her forearm, and yanked her off the sidewalk with surprising strength.

"Ahhh!" she cried, before a hand covered her mouth.

"Shhh… I'm not going to hurt you," the girl said quietly, removing both hands.

Alison looked up at her. The girl looked a few years older than her, and she was very pretty. She had long dark curls and porcelain skin. Her attire consisted of a very long ruffled purpled dress.

"Now, I have to ask a favor of you."

Normally, not even Alison would trust a random girl who had pulled her through a bush. But her voice… there was something in her voice that made Alison want to trust her. So she did.

"Okay," she said, not at all cautiously. "What is it?"

She pulled a crumpled picture out of her pocket. It was a picture of a strange necklace-type thing with a clear crystal orb and a metal rim.

"This belongs to a girl in your class," she explained. "Her name is Hayleigh. I need it."

Alison nodded. She knew Hayleigh. "Sure," she said, shrugging. "Why not?"

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**I know, really short chapter. But the next one is good, one of my favorites. So get up to 7 reviews and you'll get it. REVIEW!**


	4. First Test

**Disclaimer- If I owned W.I.T.C.H, I wouldn't post this story on a free site. I would sell it.**

**IxAmxYasha and scottgrub are my very best fans and reviewers. Thank you**!

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Chapter Four- First Test

Of course, the teachers had to pick this day of all days to spring a 'code yellow' drill on them. 'Code yellow' meant that the students pretended there was a hostage in the school and huddled in the corner of the classroom where no one could see them through the tiny window in the door. Basically it was stupid.

Even though Hayleigh knew the whole thing was fake, the combination of stress from midterms and her turning out to be some sort of fairy-thing was making her nervous. So while everyone huddled in the corner, she put one hand behind her back, and concentrated on the Heart of Candracar.

As usual, it appeared in her palm. Hayleigh sincerely hoped it wasn't glowing. Her classmates' faces when they saw her surrounded by a halo of pink light were more than she could handle right now.

Unfortunately, the thing started to emit a faint glow. That was kind of odd. Wasn't it only supposed to react to, you know, danger or something? Unless… this wasn't a drill.

The thought made Hayleigh shiver. And when she shivered, the hand behind her back became visible for a moment.

_Uh-oh… _she thought, gnawing on her lip._ Here come questions. _

She wasn't disappointed. Callie was the first one to notice the orb.

"Hayleigh?" she asked. "What is that thing? And why is it glowing?"

Hayleigh groaned and reluctantly took the necklace from behind her back.

"It's just… um… a thing," she struggled. "I bought it in… Italy over the summer!"

"But why does it glow?" Callie persisted.

"It's some weird Italian thing." Hayleigh lied. "They like things that light up."

Callie didn't seem satisfied with this response. But before she asked another question, Alison elbowed her in the ribs and whispered excitedly in her ear. Callie's blue eyes lit up and she nodded.

"Can I look at it?" Callie asked, a smirk on her face. Hayleigh glanced at her friends for help. They looked worried, but no one seemed to have any idea of what to do.

Luckily, at that time Ms. Carson shushed the girls.

"This isn't a drill!" she hissed.

Hayleigh was happy to be saved from one thing, but this was kind of like the expression 'out of the frying pan and into the fire'. That's kind of what she felt like right now. Not a drill? The Heart pulsed in her hand. She knew that she should be fighting whatever it was, but how? She couldn't just transform in front of the class.

That's when the door exploded.

Everyone screamed. How could they not? The door was in flames halfway across the room, and a gigantic hulking blue shape lurked in the doorway.

Hayleigh's eyes widened, but she made no sound. Instead, she grabbed Lacey's hand.

"What do we do?" Lacey asked frantically.

Kelsey, who was next to Lacey, racked her brain. If only they could transform and use their alleged 'powers'. Then again…

Maybe they could. Kelsey elbowed Lacey and whispered the plan in her ear. Lacey whispered to Hayleigh while Kelsey told Mandy and Julia.

"Okay." Hayleigh said quietly. "Follow me."

The five girls slipped through the burning doorway in the chaos that followed. Everyone was too busy hiding and dodging flying desks to notice them.

"Guardians unite!"

An orange teardrop enveloped Lacey in a fiery orb. Mandy's bubbling blue teardrop wrapped her in water. Kelsey was surrounded by viney green light from her emerald teardrop. A silvery teardrop caught Julia in a swirling tornado. And Hayleigh's hot pink teardrop filled her with burning energy.

The group floated gently to the floor in their magical forms. Hayleigh dashed through the doorway again, followed by her friends.

Kelsey struck the first blow. She knelt to the ground, whispering, "Earth!" The floor shuddered and cracked open as the emerald light touched it, allowing thick thorny branches to wrap around the monster. He roared in pain and surprise and turned to face Kelsey.

"You!" he growled. Muscles bulged under his skin and the branches snapped. Kelsey froze as he neared her.

"Air!" Julia cried. She held her hands in front of her. Silvery magic flew out of her palms. A huge gust of wind rammed the monster in the chest. He was catapulted into the wall, which sagged dangerously.

Lacey took advantage of his disabled state to call on her magic. "Fire!" She grinned as flames formed a ring around him.

"Yes!" she shouted.

But her celebration didn't last long. Lacey heard a shriek from the doorway and turned around.

Another monster, green this time, with a snake-like tail and bat wings, had a hold of Mandy's arm. She struggled and kicked but would not let go.

"Guardians," he hissed. "New Guardians. What a nuisance." Then he grinned evilly. "But nothing I can't deal with."

Hayleigh stood before him, her eyes fiery. "Oh no you don't you ugly beast!" she yelled, before nailing him with a huge ball of pink energy. He dropped Mandy, shocked.

Mandy rubbed her arm and stood up. "Water!" The floor shuddered again. Several people screamed, and the rest fell over from the vibration. Suddenly water shot out of the ground right below the snake-man. It blasted him back through the doorway. As soon as he hit the ground, the monster slithered out of their sight.

"After him!" Hayleigh ordered.

The girls flew close behind him. Then he stopped.

"I will be back to deal with you, Guardians."

This was different. Why was he acting like he was going anywhere? They had him trapped in a corner.

That was when the air crackled with energy and a bolt of blue lightning shot across the wall. The Guardians were knocked backwards by the force.

The lightning rippled and pulsed, becoming a very large circle of light. The snake-man disappeared through this hole, while the very confused girls watched.

"We have to close it," Hayleigh whispered almost to herself.

"Together!" she shouted, throwing her hot pink magic at the circle. A streak of celery green light joined hers, followed by silver, orange, and blue. But nothing was happening.

"The crystal!" Julia cried. "Add the crystal!"

Hayleigh took one hand away from her stream of magical energy. The Heart of Candracar appeared in her palm. She thrust it toward the circle of light, and it shot its own magenta energy out.

The circle started to shrink, fist to the size of a wheel, then a dinner plate, then a penny. Then it was gone.

"What…?" Lacey asked quietly.

But Hayleigh stopped her. "Later," she promised. "Now we have to change back.

As if the crystal had heard her, it floated back to her hand. A swirl of light encircled them, and they were regular teenage girls again. They raced back to the classroom, getting back just in time to hear whispers of the monsters and their five mysterious defenders.

"They had the coolest outfits!" Brooke said jealously to Callie, who nodded in agreement.

"What were those things?" Jamie, another girl in that class, asked her best friend Cathleen.

Cathleen shuddered. "They were horrible!"

Nearby, the boys only had thoughts for the girls.

"Those girls were hott!" Gary, Matt's friend, remarked.

Another, Brian, agreed. "I wish I knew who they were!"

Hearing this, the girls giggled. Who said there was no perks in this Guardian business?

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**So the Guardians have faced their first challenge. Hmm… When I get8 reviews, you will get the next chapter. Promise. REVIEW!**


	5. A Portal and Living Stone

**A third chapter up without the required number of reviews. You guys are getting lucky. I would once again love to mention that IxAmxYasha has been my number one reviewer so far and reviewed every single chapter. So anyway, here it is!

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Chapter Five-A Portal and Living Stone

Something was bugging Lacey. It wasn't just the usual school and homework, or even her parents' messy divorce. No!

It was the fact that her and her four best friends had suddenly been given amazing magical powers so that they could protect Earth and some fantasy world called Metamoore from evil.

Now she, an ordinary teenage girl, could control fire with just a wave of her hand. And her friends had these powers too. Mandy could manipulate water, the earth obeyed Kelsey, and Julia had power over the air.

And Hayleigh? Well, she was the Keeper of the Heart of Candracar, a mystical orb that unleashed the girls' powers. Which sort of made her the leader of this band.

_That must make Mandy angry, _she thought with a smile. _She always needs to be in the lead, especially when Hayleigh is involved. Mandy might be a perfectionist, but Hayleigh is effortlessly smarter than her. _

"Lacey!" Hayleigh called, jolting the girl out of her reverie. "Come here."

Lacey stood up and walked to the square of varnished yellow desks where her friends sat.

"We were thinking," Kelsey explained, "that we need to practice our powers. Who knows when more big ugly monsters will appear?"

Julia nodded. "How about today after school? There's no cheerleading, Mandy doesn't have dance, and we don't have that much homework."

"And I know the perfect place!" said Hayleigh happily.

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"Um, Hayleigh? Where exactly are we?" Mandy asked quietly. They had walked to the end of her friend's block and into a small cluster of trees. Only it turned out that this small cluster of trees was really a forest!

Hayleigh stopped walking. "We're in the woods. By the creek," she stated, as if it were obvious. Mandy scowled, but the leader didn't notice. "This is a perfect place!"

_She's right, _Julia thought, looking around her. They were deep into the forest, hidden by tall trees that blocked out even the bright sunlight.

"All right, here we go," Hayleigh said calmly.

With a whirl of energy, the girls were transformed into beautiful, magical, strong Guardians.

"I'll go first!" Mandy declared as soon as her purple boots touched the dirt. She stepped up to the creek and raised her arms with defiance and concentration on her face.

With a smug smile playing at her lips, Mandy called on her watery power. She felt it course through her body like an electrical current. Then it spread from her hands like a sparkling wave, dancing toward the water. The light disappeared under the surface. Then…

_Whoosh!_  
The stream erupted into the air with the force of a canon shot, spraying the other four Guardians with water.

"Hey!" Kelsey cried. She flattened down her wet hair. "Now my turn!"

The girl knelt to the ground and touched the soil with both palms. Her long skirt billowed around her and wisps of green light started to skip around her hands. Then it stopped. Kelsey put her head up and stared at the tree in front of her.

_'Did you just talk to me?' _she asked it mentally, wondering if it could hear her.

The tree shook lightly, its branches rustling. A drop of dew landed on Kelsey's upturned face. '_Indeed I did, young Earth Guardian. There is danger nearby, a portal. It is just north of here, by the bend in the creek. You must tell the blonde girl, the Heart's Keeper, and close it.'_

_'Close it?'_ Kelsey asked, a bit shocked. _'How?'_

_'You have closed one portal already,' _the tree replied. _"At your place of learning."_

_'That light at school? That was a portal, to Metamoore?'_

The tree shook again, as if nodding, and spoke no more.

"You guys!" Kelsey turned to see the other Guardians staring at her. "There is something over there, a portal. Like the one we closed at the school! We have to close this one!"

Everybody spoke at once.

"Who told you that?" Julia asked, confused.

"That thing at school was a portal?" Mandy's head spun.

"Where is it?" Lacey wanted to know.

Only Hayleigh remained silent as Kelsey answered the questions. Finally she spoke.

"Let's go."

Kelsey led the way to the bend in the creek. The tree had etched the spot in her mind.

"This is it!" she stated firmly, stopping where a gnarled old tree was leaning into the twisted river. "I know it."

Lacey frowned. "Are you sure? I don't…"

Just then Hayleigh groaned and dropped to her knees. Her eyes were tightly shut and her face had gone very white.

The girls raced to her. Kelsey grabbed her arm and tried to pull her up again with the help of Julia, who grabbed her other arm.

"Are you alright?" Mandy asked, concerned.

Hayleigh's eyes fluttered open.

"I-I'm fine. Just a dizzy spell." She tried to stand, but fell back weakly into her friends' arms.

Julia studied her for a moment. "Do you think it might have something to do with the portal?"

As if answering her question, circle of blue flames erupted right in front of them. The girls jumped back in alarm. What looked like a long cold tunnel appeared through the circle.

But the portal didn't want to be found. Stones from inside the tunnel flew out of it, forming a circular wall around it.

"How are we supposed to close it if we can't get to it?" Lacey wondered aloud.

"I have an idea!" Kelsey said triumphantly. She touched the wall with both hands, green sparks flying. A small hole appeared, growing larger by the second.

But then it stopped growing! With a noise like a vacuum cleaner, Kelsey was sucked into the wall. There was only a foot or two between her and the portal!

"Kelsey!" Hayleigh screamed, pounding on the wall. The stones shimmered and rippled before throwing out a long rocky rope. The rope twisted around Hayleigh, and held her high in the air. She screamed, but was unable to move. She couldn't even reach the Heart, for her arms were pinned to her sides!

The other girls backed away slowly. But it was too late. The war against the portal and its wall had begun. Stones started shooting out of the barrier. They formed a slightly bigger circle around the first stack. Then new walls erupted from the floor to separate all the girls. Each was alone.

Lacey heard herself scream. She wasn't quite sure that this was really happening. But she knew that she was in a fight with a stone wall, which was now covering her in a smooth layer of rocks so that she was forced to lie flat on her back. As she screamed again, the girl felt her Guardian clothes turn back to her ugly plaid school uniform. Her wings melted away and her hair thickened and arranged itself into a nest of knots.

She felt all her hope die within her. She was trapped forever, and she would die alone without her friends or family by her side. Tears streamed down Lacey's face. Her friends, her family! She would never see them again.

Similar thoughts were occupying Mandy, who was trapped up against the second wall by a third stack of stones, and Julia, who was being hung upside-down by a thread of rock.

But Hayleigh still struggled. "Put me down!" she screamed, kicking at the brick tentacle. The rope whipped her through the air again, almost smashing her into the first wall.

Then she stopped struggling and hung her head. _Please, Heart of Candracar! _she pleaded, _help us! _Her fist unclenched as she waited to feel the fiery energy in her palm. For a moment there was nothing, and she almost gave up. But then a warm glow filled her, and she saw out of the corner of her eye the Heart, letting loose its teardrops.

Julia saw it too. Her heart lightened as she watched her wind-like teardrop dance to her. With a burst of silver magic, she felt herself lifted into the air, just like her friends. It was like the wind was swirling around her, lifting her up and transforming her to her magical form. She threw her arms out and laughed as she felt her limbs lengthen, her muscles grow stronger, and her face change. Her clothes melted away, replaced by a little turquoise shirt and purple skirt. But the best had to be the wings! They were beautiful, multicolored and fluttery, the perfect finishing touch to their magical forms.

When they all landed, the walls were gone! Their magic had defeated the portal.

"Now where were we?" Hayleigh asked with a grin. "Together girls!"

With expertise the girls directed their magic toward the portal. Between them and the Heart, it had no chance. It quickly shrank and disappeared.

"Well," Kelsey said finally. "I think that was enough excitement for one day."

Hayleigh nodded.

"We'd better get back." With that, Hayleigh lifted the shining medallion. In a whirl of magical energy, they were normal teenagers again.

"Now who wants a snack?" Hayleigh asked.

The girls ran off, talking and laughing and trying their very best to forget what had just happened.

* * *

**Lovely new chapter, doncha think? Please review!**


	6. A New Feeling

**Fianlly, a new chapter everyone! I basically gave up waiting for reviews... Anyway, here it is!**

* * *

Chapter Six- A New Feeling

Tyler could not believe what he was hearing. Matt's girlfriend and her friends had just challenged the boys to a game of football.

And even crazier? The other boys had agreed to it. Tyler elbowed Matt.

"Are you nuts?" he hissed. "They'll get killed!"

Matt shrugged. "We won't hurt them on purpose. At least, I won't. And I guess you won't either."

Tyler sighed and glanced back at the girls. Namely Hayleigh. The petite girl made you want to look at her twice. Right now she was smiling wryly at the boys, her blue-green eyes determined.

"Let's play then!" she said with a toss of her wispy golden ponytail. Then she skipped off down the field, singing sweetly as she went.

Tyler watched her for a moment before Matt tapped him on the shoulder.

"We're starting."

"Can I do the hut hut hut thing?" Kelsey asked excitedly. Tyler shook his head. These girls had probably never even watched a football game in their life.

"Hut, hut… HIKE!" Kelsey yelled, tossing the ball through her legs to Mandy. It flew about three inches in the air before rolling across the dirt.

"You have to throw it up, Kelsey," Mandy noted reproachfully. "Let me try."

Mandy tossed it up through her legs to Julia, who yelped as the ball nearly hit her in the face. But she did catch it, so the boys rushed forward.

"Here Julia!" Lacey called. Julia spun the ball through the air, but it wasn't going to reach her friend. Brian had already positioned himself underneath it for an easy interception.

Julia mentally groaned. Then she stopped. She had the power of air on her side! With barely visible silvery light, Julia sent the ball another few feet-right to Lacey!

"Score!" she yelled happily, as Lacey darted to the end zone.

The boys were bewildered, but no way were they giving up. They quickly set up an offense, and tossed the ball to Matt, who was playing quarterback. He sent a nice spiral pass to Tyler, who ran to catch it.

"Sorry Tyler!" Kelsey whispered. Then a spark of emerald flew from her hand to the ground right in front of Tyler. A small branch poked out of the earth, and he went sprawling. The ball rolled away, and Hayleigh picked it up.

"Touchdown!" she sang, sprinting towards the end zone.

"We've got to play harder on them!" growled Gary angrily. "They can't beat us!" He ran after Hayleigh, diving for her ankles. Glaring at him, she darted aside.

"I wouldn't do that!" she warned. Pulling himself up, he lunged for her again. No one noticed the flicker of hot pink that flew toward Gary. But it sent him flying away from her, until he bumped to the ground a few yards away.

Hayleigh laughed, and scored another touchdown. "I told you not to do that!"

His face turned as crimson as his hair as he stood up and brushed the dirt off of himself. "You, you little…"

But Tyler grabbed his arm. "Come on, Gary."

Brian turned to the girls. "I think you beat us."

They smiled smugly and looked at each other. "Oh, yes we did!"

Matt put his arm around Kelsey, and they walked toward one end of the field, whispering to each other. Lacey, Mandy, and Julia wandered off too, along with Brian and Gary. Only Tyler and Hayleigh were left on that end of the field.

Hayleigh didn't even seem to notice Tyler's presence. She was leaning up against an old oak tree that stood beside the field, staring into space with her face resting on one hand.

"Well…" Tyler said awkwardly.

Hayleigh shook her head softly, as if just waking up. Then she gazed up expectantly at Tyler.

"That was… cool, I guess. We weren't expecting you to beat us though." He gave a shy smile, and sat down on the grass next to her.

Hayleigh shrugged. "Just goes to show you…" Then she looked at him again. "I'm sorry we tripped you."

He frowned, confused. "But you weren't anywhere near me when I tripped. How did you…?"

Hayleigh gasped, realizing what she had said. "I mean… um… I'm sorry you tripped. So…" She searched her brain for a less dangerous topic. "Lots of strange things happening in this town these days."

Tyler nodded. "Like the thing at school."

Hayleigh winced. She had led herself into another risky subject. "Yeah…"

"That blue thing…" he added. "What was that?"

Hayleigh gnawed at her lip. "I don't know…" she said with false innocence. She tugged at her ear. With a faint click, her earring popped out.

"Uh oh!" she yelped. "My earring!"

"I'll help you find it," Tyler offered. He patted the grass in front of her. He felt something poke his right hand. "Got it!" He lifted his head.

Suddenly Tyler found himself face to face with Hayleigh. He smiled nervously, feeling like he could reach out and…

Not quite knowing what he was doing, Tyler reached out a hand and put a strand of hair behind her ear.

Hayleigh felt her heart flutter as his finger grazed her face. With that the spell was broken. She scrambled backwards.

"Th-thank you," she stuttered. "I'd better go find my friends." She grabbed the earring and dashed off across the grass.

Tyler just sat there, pulling at the grass absentmindedly and watching Hayleigh run towards her friends.

_Hayleigh's a cool girl, _he thought, feeling a blush rise in his cheeks.

* * *

**Aww... Hayleigh's got a crush. And he likes her back! Yay! Anyway, please review.**


	7. Thief

**Have you been wondering about what happened at the school? Who was going to get in trouble for talking during the 'code yellow'? Well, here it is: all the answers!**

* * *

Chapter Seven- Thief

"Now class." Ms. Carson bore down on them like an oversized bird of prey. Not that she bore any resemblance to one. The eighth grade teacher was short and pudgy, with small round glasses and a thinning mop of reddish curls. "What was the object that caused so much disturbance during the 'code yellow' the other day?"

_Oh, yes, _Mandy thought, _the code yellow. When a big blue monster and his snaky friend attacked our school! And they just happened to be from this fantasy world that we are supposed to be protecting. _

She shook her head and glanced out the doorway, where a man in a dark suit paced the halls, holding a large gun. The school had increased security since last week's attack.

Mandy turned back to see Callie raise her hand.

"It was a glowing necklace thing!" she declared.

Mandy froze in her seat, and she saw Lacey, Julia, and Kelsey do the same. But nobody tensed more than Hayleigh. Mandy saw her friend's face go paper white. She clenched the desk with both hands and her eyes widened.

Alison nodded in agreement, and her hand shot up. "I saw it too, Ms. Carson."

Then Brooke moved in for the kill. "It belongs to Hayleigh." The three, and pretty much the entire rest of the class turned to look at the blonde girl, who was sinking lower and lower in her chair.

_Why does this happen to us?_ Mandy wondered with exasperation. _We get weird magical powers that we can't control, giant blue things from some fantasy world called Metamoore attack us, and then as a final punishment people happen to find out about one very important part of our huge secret. And that would be the Heart of Candracar. _

Ms. Carson turned to the shivering Hayleigh. "Ms. Woods, would you like to share your oh-so-interesting artifact with us."

Hayleigh shook her head vigorously. "N-no Ms. Carson!"

"Well, if it's so distracting, it is not allowed in school. Put it on my desk. I will return it to you at the end of the day."

Hayleigh turned even whiter, until her skin took on a greenish tinge. "Bu-but…"

"No buts!" Ms. Carson held out a fleshy hand.

Hayleigh gulped and started to dig in her desk as if looking for something. "I don't have it Ms. Carson!" she stated shakily.

The girl behind her disagreed. She raised her hand.

"Yes, Laura?" Ms. Carson asked.

"She does have it! I saw it this morning in the bathroom," she said proudly.

She was lying of course, but teachers seemed to believe the best of the worst people.

"Hayleigh?"

The girl leaned over and made a big show of digging through her backpack. When she was sure no one could see her hand, the Heart floated above it. She held it up. To any ordinary viewer it would seem as if she had just pulled it out of her backpack.

"Found it!" she said with false cheerfulness. With much hesitation, she placed the Heart in her teacher's hand, and slumped over in her seat. Without the Heart she felt empty inside, like something important was missing. She felt like there was a huge hole in her heart, where the medallion belonged.

"I'm sorry," she whispered so that only she could hear. A tear dripped from her eye, and she quickly wiped it away.

Ms. Carson strode to her desk and dropped the orb in a drawer. "Now, on with our lesson."

* * *

Alison crept silently towards the teacher's desk. It was recess, and the only chance she would get to fulfill her promise to the girl in the bushes. She needed that necklace!

_I wonder how I'll give it to her once I get it._ But Alison quickly pushed the thought away. She didn't have much time. As the school's Secretary, Hayleigh was always wandering the school at recess doing one thing or another.

With only a slight squeak, she slid open the drawer that contained the crystal. It wasn't glowing, she noticed, and there was no sign of a light bulb or anything within it.

Alison snatched it and closed the drawer. _Now I need to hide it! _she thought. _Or better yet, I'll just put it in my purse. _

So into her purse was exactly where the Heart went. With a satisfied smile on her face, Alison slipped out of the classroom and out the door.

"Guess what?" she was about to say to Brooke and Callie. But then she stopped herself.

_This is my mission, _she decided, _and I'll keep it to myself._

With that thought, she joined her friends.

* * *

The bell rang briskly and Hayleigh scampered happily out of Reading class. She was about to get the Heart back!

_It's funny,_ she realized, _how I never thought I would miss it… until it was gone!_

Hayleigh was so excited to get the orb back that she skipped into the classroom.

"Ms. Carson?" she asked, tapping her short teacher on the shoulder. "Can I have my necklace back now? I promise I'll never have it in school again!"

_Well, that's not completely true. The Heart goes wherever I do. But I can't tell her that's its literally part of me!_

"Yes you may. But remember to keep that promise." Ms. Carson began to dig through her desk drawer. "Just one second, and I'll have it." She spent a few more minutes turning the drawer upside down.

Then she looked up at Hayleigh. "I'm sorry, but I think someone has taken it!"

Hayleigh suddenly felt unable to breathe. She wobbled back and forth, her face turning pale again. Her stomach flopped over and over.

Ms. Carson, meanwhile, turned to the class. "Someone has committed a serious crime here. Whoever took Hayleigh's necklace, or who knows something about who took it, should own up right away. Remember, the quicker you tell the truth, the less punishment you will receive."

The bell rang again, but Hayleigh barely noticed. She wandered out the door as if sleepwalking, almost forgetting her books.

Julia beckoned to the others. "Emergency meeting at my house!"

* * *

**That evil girl! What will happen next?**


	8. Travel Between Worlds

**I love all my reviewers. Thanks so much for reading this story! Yeah, I took a lot of liberty and some of it doesn't really fit with the original plot line. That would be because when I wrote this, I had only read up to 18 in the books. Now, having read the rest of the comics, I know this doesn't follow. Just ignore that little fact... **

Chapter Eight- Portal Traveling

_Phew! _Kelsey thought with relief. _We managed to all meet here at Julia's house, and get Hayleigh up to her room before anyone really noticed how strange she's acting._

Kelsey glanced at her friend. Julia and Lacey had pushed her over to a plush chair, where she obediently sat. But she was not acting like herself. Her head lolled back, her eyes fluttered closed, and she curled up in a tight ball. She looked pale and drained, not her usual bouncy hyper self.

Mandy stood up. "We have to get the Heart back!" she declared.

"But how?" Lacey asked. "We have no idea who has it, or where it is…"

"I bet Hayleigh can find it, somehow, with our help!" Julia said softly. "It's connected to her, and to us."

Kelsey nodded. _She's right! Shouldn't we have some strange magical link? Maybe we can find the Heart of Candracar, using that bond!_

"Hayleigh!" Mandy shook her blonde friend. "Get up! We are finding the Heart!"

"Heart…" Hayleigh murmured. "Need… we need… the Heart…"

"That's the spirit!" said Kelsey with encouragement. "Now wake up!"

Suddenly. Hayleigh shook violently. Her body trembled and gave off a blinding fuchsia light. She was lifted into the air, her head thrown back, hair streaming, and her eyes still closed.

Kelsey just gaped. _What's happening to her? She… she's floating!_ Then she shrugged mentally. _I guess as a Guardian, nothing normal ever happens to me. Or Hayleigh. _

Hayleigh descended softly, looking alert and wide-awake, exactly the opposite of what she had been before.

"I saw something!" she exclaimed. "Alison took the Heart! Then she met with someone near her house-a girl only a year or two older than us- and gave it to her!"

Lacey tapped her shoulder. "So where is it?"

Hayleigh closed her eyes, as if remembering something. "Metamoore… the place that voice told us about!"

"And how exactly do we get there?" asked Mandy skeptically.

Julia entered the conversation here. "A portal of course!"

"A portal…" Kelsey said slowly. "Like the ones we closed?"

"Like the one that attacked us? Do we really want to repeat that experience?" asked Mandy.

Hayleigh quieted the girls. "I'm going. We need the Heart!"

Julia jumped happily. "I'm with you!"

Lacey nodded. "Count me in." She put her hand out towards Hayleigh. Her friend smiled and put her hand on Lacey's. Julia's hand came next, and then Kelsey's.

"Me too!" she chirped.

Mandy glared at the circle of hands. "We have no powers! How are we going to fight evil forces or whatever?"

"But we do have powers!" Kelsey pointed out.

Mandy sighed and added her hand to the pile. "I think I'm going to regret this," she muttered.

"Now to find a portal!" Hayleigh stated calmly.

Just then a young girl toddled into the room. She had short, straight blonde hair, brown eyes, and a shy smile.

Julia hugged the girl. "Hi Grace."

"You know Julia," Kelsey said, "You look nothing like your sister."

Julia shrugged. "I know." Then she turned to her sister. "Grace, you have to go by Mommy now, okay?"

Grace shook her head.

"Yes, Grace."

Grace shook her head again.

Julia sighed as the girl sat down on the carpet with her princess doll. "Let's go outside then, before she decides to follow us!"

So they followed their friend down the stairs, leaving an oblivious Grace sitting on the floor of her sister's bedroom with her doll.

Julia slid open the glass door and led her friends to her trampoline.

"Woo!" Hayleigh shouted, bouncing on it happily. Then she remembered why they were here, and fell with a soft thump.

"So, how do we find a por…?" But she never finished her sentence, for at that moment a strong wave of dizziness hit her. She sagged against the net that surrounded the trampoline and closed her eyes.

"That's how," said Julia decidedly. "The portal is right there!" She pointed at the rotating circle of blue lightning that had materialized in front of the girls. She started crawling towards it.

"Wait!" Lacey cried. "Won't your mom worry if we just disappear?"

Hayleigh bit her lip. She hadn't thought of that. Then she had an idea. "I have a plan! But this might sound a little odd. We have to clone ourselves with our magic."

Her friends just stared at her blankly.

"It might not work without the Heart, but we have to try!"

They just kept staring. Hayleigh shook her head.

"Watch!" she commanded.

Closing her eyes, Hayleigh felt a surge of power in her veins. She imagined herself bathed in a warm magenta glow. Then she thought of an identical double of herself stepping away from the glow. It would know everything about her, her secrets, dreams, and wishes. It would have all of her memories, and replace her for as long as she was gone. The girl felt a pang of doubt about this idea. I mean, would anyone even notice that it wasn't her? But she shook the thought away. _It's absolutely necessary, _she told herself.

When Hayleigh opened her eyes, she almost shouted in surprise. Standing in front of her was, well… Hayleigh! Another Hayleigh was looking back at her, as if a mirror had just appeared in front of her face.

"Whoa!" she murmured.

The clone blinked at her. "Why do you look just like me?"

"I… er-long story," Hayleigh said quickly.

Then she turned to her friends. "Do what I just did," she ordered. "Just close your eyes and imagine your perfect clone!"

With a bit of hesitation, her friends did as she told them to. They closed their eyes and were immediately enveloped in light the color of their magic. Soon a hazy shadow appeared in front of each girl. The shadows took the shapes of their originators. The girls opened their eyes.

"It's incredible!" Julia whispered, reaching out to touch her double's hand.

Mandy looked quizzical. "It's impossible," she muttered to herself. "It's not scientifically possible."

Hayleigh corrected her. "Anything is possible… where magic is involved!"

Julia headed towards the portal again. "We have to go before my mom looks out the window and sees ten of us!"

The girls nodded in agreement and followed her into the swirling circle of light.

Kelsey was last. _Why am I doing this? I am chasing a little necklace through a tunnel of lightning, having no idea what is on the other side! _The thought almost made her laugh. _I have to! _She told herself. _Whoever stole the Heart could put it to bad use quickly. We need to stop them! _

With that though she crawled into the tunnel. It was like being sucked into a giant whirlpool. She spun round and round, coming dangerously close to the stone wall that made up the sides of the portal. Kelsey felt sick. _Please let this stop soon!_ She begged. _Please!_

Almost immediately she got her wish. Kelsey was launched out of the tunnel like a bullet from a gun. She landed with a thud next to Lacey and looked around. They were in an alleyway, of sorts. But it was nothing like their Clearwater! The buildings were short and made out of muddy straw and stone.

Kelsey turned to her friends. "Where are we?"

Hayleigh straightened up, brushing dust and dirt off her jeans and royal blue sweatshirt. "Well…" she began, as if she didn't quite know how to explain herself. "I think we are in that place, where she took the Heart! But I'm not sure… no one ever told us what it looks like. Come on, let's close this portal." They promptly did.

"You know…" Julia said. "We kind of stand out here." She gestured towards their modern clothes. "We should get some sort of disguise. I think that shop over there sells cloaks."

Julia led the way across the dirt road. She pushed through the wooden door and walked right up to the shopkeeper.

"We need some cloaks. Do you sell them?"

The shopkeeper, who was a large orange lizard with green horns, looked at her skeptically. "No payment?"

Julia bit her lip. She had forgotten about that. She put her hands in the pockets of her jeans and felt around. Then she turned back to her friends.

"How are we going to pay for them?" she whispered urgently.

The other girls dug through their pockets too.

"Do you think he'll take two gold dollars?" Lacey asked. "It's kind of cheap in our world, but hey, it's gold! How can he tell it's barely enough to buy a pack of gum on Earth?"

"Don't say that loud!" Julia hissed, swiping the coins from her friend's outstretched hand. Then she turned back to the lizard man. "How about these two wonderful gold coins?"

The man took the coins and bit both experimentally. He squinted at the woman that they both depicted. "Who's that?"

"Um… a great nature goddess. Can we please have five brown cloaks now?"

The shopkeeper grumbled about his services to cheap travelers but he gave them the coarse cloaks. Julia thanked him and dragged the other girls out of the shop.

"That was close. Put these on."

Hayleigh held hers up. "Is this made out of potato sacks or something?"

Julia shrugged. "Who cares? Keeping a low profile is far more important than style at the moment."

The girls pulled the cloaks over their heads. Hayleigh started off, obviously meaning for the others to follow.

It seemed like hours later when they finally reached the outer wall of the castle. It was gigantic, complete with tall gloomy towers and guards patrolling the entrance.

Hayleigh gulped. "Guards! I forgot about them," she muttered. "How can we get in?"

Just then a cart piled high with straw stopped in front of their hiding place. Hayleigh smiled.

"Perfect! Hide in the hay girls!"

Mandy looked at Hayleigh as if she were nuts. "The hay?"

"We have to get in somehow," she explained. "Now get in! We only have about thirty seconds before this thing starts moving again." She carefully climbed into the wagon and buried herself under heaps of yellow straw.

Julia shrugged and copied her. Kelsey, Mandy, and Lacey looked at each other and back at the cart.

"Here goes nothing," Kelsey mumbled, her voice muffled by the hay. Lacey and Mandy soon settled themselves in, and not a moment too soon. With a creak and grinding of gears, the gate lifted and the cart rattled along the stone floor of the palace.

After only a few minutes, the cart stopped. A gruff voice ordered for someone to begin unloading the hay.

"You guys!" Kelsey whispered. "They're going to find us."

The four girls turned to Hayleigh expectantly.

She looked worried. "I don't know. What could we…?" She trailed off as an idea came to her. "Let them find us."

Julia gasped. "But Hayleigh, what if they hurt us?"

"We'll be in big trouble."

"Mandy and Julia are right, Hayleigh," cautioned Lacey. "How are we going to do this?"

Hayleigh hushed her friends. "Listen. When they find us, they'll take us to whoever is in charge. And that will probably be the person who has the Heart!"

The others had no chance to protest, for at that moment a portly violet frog-like creature lifted the straw off of them. A muscled guard grabbed Hayleigh's arm.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"I am… um… I am lost!" she stammered.

He glared at her suspiciously and grabbed Julia also. "Nytar!" he yelled to his companion. "Take the others and follow me. We are going to see Nerissa!"

Hayleigh tried to look scared, although inside she was cheering. _Perfect!_ she thought triumphantly. _I bet this Nerissa person has the Heart of Candracar!_

The guards dragged them down numerous corridors. The passageways were dark and grim, and there seemed to be millions of them. _Like a giant maze, _Hayleigh thought.

Finally the guards stopped. The one holding Hayleigh threw her to the ground, keeping a tight hold on Julia.

Hayleigh stayed on her knees but looked up cautiously. In front of her was a gigantic throne. It was made of violet-grey stone, and vines bearing velvety black roses wound around it. On the throne sat a girl. She seemed only a few years older than Hayleigh. The girl was lovely, with ebony curls that fell past her waist, porcelain skin, and big dark eyes. But her eyes were full of hatred and malice, pretty much ruining the elegant effect given by her looks and her wine colored gown.

"Your Majesty, I found these girls in a shipment of hay. This one appears to be the leader." He gestured toward Hayleigh who hugged her knees and glared at the girl defiantly. _Your Majesty?_ Hayleigh thought, puzzled. Then she saw the silver crown that the girl- Nerissa, she supposed-wore on her curls, and the silver staff she held in her right hand. Hayleigh wondered what the symbol that topped the staff meant. It was a circle, surrounded by a half circle. A jagged line cut through the middle of the design.

"Thank you, Tiblan, I shall take it from here. You are free to go." Her voice was sweet and lilting, but there was a touch of evil in it, and Hayleigh suspected that there was a lot more than a touch of evil in this Nerissa person.

"I know who you are, Keeper of the Heart," she said, turning back to Hayleigh. Then Hayleigh realized what the symbol represented. The Heart of Candracar!

"Silly Guardian," she continued. "The Guardians all insist on using their tremendous power for good. Do you know what you could have used the Heart for?" Hayleigh shook her head. "Of course you don't. I doubt anyone but me could use the Heart of Candracar to its full potential. Except for me of course." She turned around and picked up a velvet box. Opening the box, she faced Hayleigh and showed her what was inside.

Hayleigh gasped. It was the Heart! Of course, it looked dead and dull, not being in the hands of its rightful keeper. "It is being a bit stubborn, but I suppose that won't be much trouble. It won't dare defy me for more than a few hours."

Hayleigh couldn't think straight anymore. She needed to rescue the Heart from this villain! "Now girls!" Pushing every ounce of her power out of her body, she fired a bolt of magenta lightning from her hands.

Nerissa wobbled, caught off guard for a moment. Then she cackled even when Mandy sent a stream of water to spin around her.

"You cannot defeat me you foolish children! You do not even have your full powers!"

Lacey clenched her fists. When she relaxed, a small fireball danced in each of her palms. She tossed them towards Nerissa, who only laughed and waved them away with her hand.

"I told you! See, I am the only one with the right to these powers. You do not deserve… Hey!"

While she hand been talking, Julia had whisked the Heart out of the box with a gust of wind. It floated gently down to Hayleigh.

"Guardians, unite!" she called.

A colorful teardrop flew out of the orb to join each girl. Kelsey gladly beckoned to her emerald one. It spun around her, faster and faster. The air smelled of grass and flowers. Kelsey closed her eyes and enjoyed the scents. She felt her plain sweatshirt and jeans give way to a wide-necked turquoise shirt and graceful purple skirt. Wings unfurled from her back, and her hair lengthened. When her transformation was complete, the magic set her back on the ground. She turned to face Nerissa.

"You can never defeat me with your measly powers! Even without the Heart I am stronger than you!"

What she said was true, they soon realized. Their powers at full force, the girls combined the magic to throw an enormous, glowing ball of energy at Nerissa. Nerissa laughed, and blocked it easily. Her magic still took on the fuchsia color it had when she was a Guardian.

Hayleigh struggled. "We can't hold her! We have to escape!"

"But how?" Kelsey asked, breathing heavily.

Hayleigh held up the Heart. "I wish this could help us!"

Mandy sighed. "I am tired of getting into huge trouble and then just hoping the little glass ball can get us out of it! Someday it will stop working or something, and then I will say…"

Hayleigh held up a hand, telling Mandy to be quiet. "What's that, inside the Heart?"

A small shape was taking shape inside the glass orb. It was a circle, green with a white 'C' shape cut out of it. A narrow triangle, half green, half white, was on top. On the bottom of the circle was a similar triangle, but it was shorter and fatter.

Lacey bent her head closer to the Heart. "Don't you hear that whispering?" Her friends shook their heads, bewildered. "There is this voice, and it's saying…" she paused, leaning towards the orb. "Phobos? Who's that?"

"What? I think we all missed something," Julia said to Lacey.

"This thing… the voice says it's the Seal of Phobos."

"What's that?" asked Kelsey.

Hayleigh shook her head. "I don't know. But I remember that name from somewhere." She thought for a few minutes, her eyes shut tight in concentration.

_Phobos, Phobos… Something about supporters and Nerissa… And something else about defeating a prince… Wait! He must be the one the Guardians defeated… And then they put someone on the throne… Light of Meridian? Nerissa can't be the Light… Wait, they said the Light was missing… So we have to find her? Okay, later Hayleigh… _

"Prince Phobos! He's the one the Guardians defeated seventy years ago. Remember the video?"

"Well that's all wonderful and everything," Mandy interrupted. "But we are pretty much goners if that little seal thing can't help us get out of here."

Hayleigh held up the Heart. In a flash of blue light, a portal appeared! "Where did that come from?" she asked quietly.

Julia pointed excitedly at the Seal of Phobos. "It was that thing! The Seal! It can open portals."

"Everybody, come on!" Hayleigh shouted over the roar of the portal. "We have to get through and close it before Nerissa makes it to Earth!" She dashed through the circle.

Her friends shrugged and followed. The portal was not nearly as uncomfortable this time, and spit them out almost immediately. They looked around them. Where had they landed this time? It was a patch of trees only as wide as the five of them standing in a line. And through the trees they saw a trampoline, a house, and…

"It's us!" Kelsey whispered, pointing at the five girls who were bouncing on the trampoline.

"Hurry up then," Hayleigh urged. "We have to close the portal. Together!"

Six streams of liquid light banded together. The portal shrank quickly, and the girls lowered their arms.

"Back to normal, Heart of Candracar!" The Heart absorbed the colorful magic, leaving each girl an average teenager again.

Hayleigh crept towards the trampoline and beckoned for her friends to follow. "Psst!" she hissed at the clones. "Come down here."

Their copies nodded and joined the girls behind the trampoline.

"We should call them something." Julia thought for a moment. "They are a part of us, and anyway, something tells me that they already have a name."

"Well, what is it?" asked Mandy testily.

"Astral drops!" Julia pronounced. The second she spoke those words bright light flashed around the girls. When it dimmed, the astral drops were gone.

"Well then. That was interesting," Lacey said. "Thank God it's Friday!"

"And we have no school next week," Kelsey added. "We're going on that camping trip thing."

"That's a comforting thought."

Hayleigh just smiled and looked down at her palm. Knowing that the Heart of Candracar was right where it should be was the most comforting feeling in the world.

**So the Heart is back and all is right with the world... or is it? Stay tuned for the next chapter, coming after my week long vacation starting July 28. **


	9. Again?

**Wow it took me a long time to update. Kind of. Sorry about that. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Oh, and for some weird reason the lines aren't working. There's supposed to be one here:**

**Chapter Nine- Again?**

Hayleigh glanced at the empty suitcase that was thrown haphazardly across her pastel duvet and sighed. Her class was going to Wolf Mountain tomorrow. And they were staying for an entire week.

Mostly this would be a chance to get excited. What could be better than hanging out with her friends? Plus, Matt and his friends would probably hang around them too. Giving her an excuse to see Tyler.

And she wasn't one of those girls who were afraid of bugs either. Bugs, fish, frogs-they were fine with her. So was sleeping in a cabin, waking up early, and wearing warm but not very nice looking clothes all the time.

So she should have been excited. She just wished packing were a lot easier! "Hmm…" she muttered, studying the packing list that had been sent home with the permission slip and then pile of clothes on her pink carpet. "Four pairs of sweats? Check. Two T-shirts? Check. Four long-sleeved shirts, sweatshirt, hiking boots, flip-flops for the shower? Check."

Hayleigh absentmindedly pulled her little black and grey puppy, Gracie, into her lap as she thought. The maltese/yorkie's tail wagged enthusiastically.

"I think you are almost as excited as I am," Hayleigh commented, before returning to her mental checklist.

"What about your square dance?"

Hayleigh jumped as the high female voice reached her ears. Then she remembered the new power she had discovered. She could talk to electrical appliances. Although this power gave her the creeps at first, she had come to love her new, strange friends. The voice was her gossipy and fashion conscious laptop, who she had named Jaime.

"Good idea. I'm not wearing sweats!"

Hayleigh threw everything except for her hiking boots into the suitcase. Then she grabbed a pair of jeans from her closet. She paired the jeans with a pretty, brown, long-sleeved shirt and chestnut UGGs.

"Perfect!" She threw the stuff in her bag along with a hairbrush, hair ties, and a large bag of cosmetics.

The doorbell rang, and Hayleigh zipped her suitcase closed and rushed to answer it, preceded by her wildly barking dog. Standing outside her door was a very worried looking Julia.

"What's wrong?" Hayleigh asked immediately.

"The portal behind my house opened again…"

"Oh." Hayleigh was rather relieved. "Well that's no problem. Let's go close it right now!"

"Wait!" Julia said sadly. "I'm not done! Grace went through it! My mom hasn't noticed yet, she thinks Grace is still napping. We've got to hurry!"

Hayleigh's eyes widened and she stuck one finger in her mouth, nibbling at the nail. It was a nervous habit of hers.

"Hold on, I'll make an astral drop." With a flash of pink light, an exact double of Hayleigh melted away from the original.

"Okay good, now let's go!" She dashed after Julia, who had started running the second she said 'okay'.

In a few minutes, they had reached Julia's house. Creeping around the garage, they joined the other three girls in the strip of trees behind the trampoline. They were all gathered around a circle of sapphire lightning.

"I called everyone else," Julia explained. "You wouldn't pick up though."

Hayleigh nodded and extended her hand. The heart of Candracar appeared, glowing with pink light. "Guardians, unite!"

Colorful orbs spun around the girls. Lacey's orb was fiery red and orange. Pure energy burned all around her. Her powers made her forget her difficulties at home, and her trouble with schoolwork (particularly math). She was a confident, she was strong, and she was beautiful. She landed crouched on the ground and straightened up.

Her friends had already landed. Hayleigh studied the portal for a second before stepping into it. Lacey, Julia, and Kelsey followed without a thought. Mandy, however, stood stubbornly.

"I will not…" Before she finished her sentence, Julia had grabbed her arm and dragged her through the portal. She landed on the other side with a thump.

"Thanks a lot!" She glared at Julia, who shrugged.

"We have to find my sister!"

"And quickly! Look where we are!" Hayleigh gestured to the fine marble floors and jewel covered walls that surrounded them. "The palace! We're in the throne room, I think."

Julia looked down at the dark marble floor. A little trail of mud led out of the room. She started to follow the trail, not even thinking about her friends anymore.

"Wait up Julia!" Lacey called, racing down the hallway off of the throne room. Julia was already turning into another small room. Lacey chased her, pursued by the other girls.

Grace was sitting quietly on the floor playing with her princess doll. Julia almost grabbed her and ran off, but then she saw what was behind her sister.

Nerissa was sleeping soundly on a velvet couch. Her dark hair was thrown over her face and her chest rose and fell softly with her breaths. But Julia was sure that any second now she would wake.

"Julia did you find Grace?" Lacey said rather loudly, running into the room. Then she stopped short, seeing Nerissa. Hayleigh almost plowed into her.

Julia was creeping slowly towards her sister. When she was in reaching distance, she grabbed her sister and ran. Her friends were quick to get out of her way and sprint towards the portal.

"Guards! Trespassers!" They heard Nerissa shouting and ran all the more quickly. A foghorn sounded throughout the castle.

Hayleigh and Mandy were already through the portal by the time the guards reached the throne room. Kelsey was halfway to Earth. But Julia was still a good four yards away, and carrying her sister made her run slower. Lacey stopped. She could not run away while her best friend was in danger.

"Take that!" she yelled, throwing a huge fireball right behind Julia. The guards backed up a few steps.

Julia smiled gratefully and dove through the portal, cradling her sister protectively. Lacey shot out another stream of fire and jumped after her.

On the other side, Hayleigh lifted the Heart of Candracar. The portal disappeared. With another flash of light, they were all back to normal.

"Well then," Hayleigh said. "See you all tomorrow!" She sprinted to her house and threw open the door, barely managing to reach her room without meeting her mom.

"Astral drop!" The clone flashed with pink light and then vanished. Hayleigh sighed with relief. Then she realized how tired she was. After pulling on a pair of pajama pants and an oversized T-shirt, she climbed in bed.

_I don't think I'll ever have a normal day again! _This thought echoed through her mind until she drifted off to sleep.

**And here. Review, por favor. **


	10. Wolf Mountain

**Hello readers. I kind of realized that I haven't updated in a while. Well, you know, first few weeks of school and stuff. Not really a excuse since I've written up to Chapter 12. Wow this is Chapter 10. Better get to my writing. Well anyway. On with the story.

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Chapter Ten- Wolf Mountain

"Eighth graders!" Ms. Carson shouted over the noise. "You will now board the bus! Make sure you behave!"

If she said anything else, it was lost in the hubbub of thirty teenagers cramming themselves into a bus. The Guardians, Matt, Tyler, Brian, and Gary headed towards the back. Mandy, Lacey, and Julia took the three-seater in the back, and Kelsey slid into the row in front of them with Matt. Hayleigh sat alone in the row across from Kelsey and Matt. They all immediately launched into bright conversation, as if it were not five o'clock in the morning.

"Hi Hayleigh. Um… can I sit there?" Hayleigh looked up. Tyler was standing next to her, gesturing at the window seat of her row. Slightly embarrassed, she nodded.

"Thanks." Tyler slid into the seat. Brian and Gary were in front of them and their friends Kevin and Dan were in front of Kelsey and Matt.

Brooke marched toward them, a large purse slung over one plump shoulder. She was closely followed by Callie and Alison.

"We called those seats," she told the three girls in the back row.

"That's nice," Lacey replied breezily. "Bye-bye."

The three glared, but Brooke and Callie sat in front of Dan and Kevin, and Alison sat in front of Brian and Gary. Brooke immediately started talking to Tyler and completely ignoring Hayleigh. The three of them loved Tyler. Actually, most eighth grade girls thought he was cute. He was tall, and had dark curly hair and bright green eyes. His smile was great too. But they always fought for Brooke to get the guy. They had a misguided notion that she was the prettiest. Hayleigh laughed at this idea. Sure, Brooke had nice hair, long dark and straight. And maybe someone could say her pale green eyes were pretty. But that was about all she had going for her. Truth be told, she was just fat.

Hayleigh didn't mind that they were ignoring her. It was very hard for her to talk to any of them without spitting out insults. But jealousy burned inside her, even though she knew that if Tyler was worth liking, he wouldn't look twice at Brooke. But her heart soared when he politely ended his conversation with Brooke and turned to her.

"So, are you excited for this trip?" he asked.

Hayleigh smiled. "Yeah! I love this kind of thing. What about you?"

"It's cool," he answered. "I'm glad we are doing both the camping stuff and skiing and snowboarding. You get the best of the mountains."

Hayleigh nodded. This was going well. They kept talking. Soon her friends and the other boys had joined in. Brooke, Callie, and Alison tried to worm their way in, but everyone pretty much ignored them. In Hayleigh's mind it was the best bus ride ever.

Two hours passed easily. The stores along the highway gave way to thick forests. Then they turned onto a bumpy road. Hayleigh stared at the snow covered peak of Wolf Mountain. It was beautiful! She took out her camera and snapped a photo. This would be her very first memory of what she was sure would be a great trip.

Five minutes later, the bus came to a halt. Ms. Carson stood up, yelling at the chaperones to quiet everyone.

"Boys and girls, we have arrived at Wolf Mountain!"

The students cheered. Ms. Carson yelled over them again.

"Everyone, leave the bus quietly. You can pick up your luggage from the compartments on either side of the bus. Then go straight to your rooms. Girls are on the top floor, boys on the bottom floor. Room assignments are on the doors."

The bus shook as all thirty of them pushed their way off the bus. Hayleigh found her bag immediately, and was quickly joined by her friends.

"Let's go find out our rooms," she said.

"If I am with one of them I will DIE!" Lacey clenched her hands into fists. "I mean it." She led the way up the narrow metal stairway of the lodge. They stopped at the first door.

"Cathleen, Jamie, Marissa, and Claire," Julia read. "They'll be happy." The four girls were good friends.

Mandy ran ahead to the next door, and stood there, smiling. "Brooke, Callie, Alison, and Laura," she said happily. "Which means…"

The five of them took off towards the last door. Sure enough, the paper read "Hayleigh, Mandy, Lacey, Kelsey, and Julia". Hayleigh pushed open the door.

To her left was a storage space, with cubbies and a rod for hanging clothes. Further ahead of her was a sturdy oak bunk bed, tucked securely into a rectangular depression in the wall. At the end of the wall on her right stood a second bunk bed.

Hayleigh scrambled up the ladder of the first bed. "I call this one!" she yelled, laying on the warm ski-lodge quilt and breathing in the sweet clean smell of the mountains that had soaked into it. She looked around the room. Across from her were two twin beds. Across from the other bunk were a writing desk and a large window. In the corner of the room stood a door to the bathroom.

Julia claimed the bottom bed of Hayleigh's bunk. Kelsey took the top of the other, and Mandy took the bottom. Lacey grabbed one of the twin beds.

"This is great!" Julia exclaimed, unpacking her suitcase into one of the large drawers under her bunk.

"I'm glad we're all together," Hayleigh agreed, putting clothes in the other drawer.

Lacey sat on the bed she had chosen, looking at a piece of paper that had been on the desk.

"We have jobs," she said, gesturing to the paper she held. "Look, Hayleigh, Cathleen, and Brooke have the first shift for set up, and Tyler, Dan, and Keith have the clean up. That's for lunch."

Hayleigh wrinkled her nose. "What do the set up people do? And when do I have to go to the dining hall?"

Lacey shrugged. "I guess they'll tell you. But this sheet does say you have to go at a quarter to twelve."

The blonde girl dug a small, plain alarm clock out of her suitcase and studied it. Finally, she took her eyes away from it.

"I give up. Can anyone tell time?"

Mandy giggled. "You can't tell time?"

Hayleigh glared at her. "I can! I just don't feel like it."

"Oh give me that." Mandy swiped the clock out of Hayleigh's hand. "It's a quarter to twelve now."

"Darn." The girl made a face. "Well, I'll see you all at lunch then!"

Hayleigh walked out of her room and down the staircase. The dining hall was a short distance away, at the end of a dirt path that began somewhere unknown to her and wound past their cabin. She wad joined by Cathleen.

"Let's get out of here before we meet up with Brooke!" Cathleen said, fiddling with her strawberry blonde curls. Hayleigh nodded in agreement. Most of the girls in the class shared a common hatred of Brooke, Callie, and Alison. The two girls dashed off towards the wooden building.

When they got inside, they found counselors waiting for them. One of them, a dark haired girl in her early twenties, waved the two over.

"Hi! I'm Jennifer, and I'll be one of your counselors," she told them. "Just set the table and get the food trays. The plates, forks, knives, and napkins are over there." She pointed to a small room off the main dining area. "And the kitchen staff will give you the tray of food for your table right at that counter. Any questions?"

Hayleigh and Cathleen shook their heads.

"Good." Jennifer frowned. "Where is the third girl?"

Hayleigh shrugged. "Knowing her, she decided not to come."

Jennifer shook her head. "Well, I'll talk to her later. Go ahead and get started."

The two followed the instructions Jennifer had given them. By the time their classmates arrived, only Brooke's table was devoid of food and utensils.

Jennifer walked over to that table. "Which one of you is Brooke?"

Brooke stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest and said nothing. But the boys all pointed at her, smirking.

"Brooke, would you like to explain to your table why they have no food?" asked Jennifer.

"No."

"Then I will. Your friend Brooke here decided that she was too good to set up for lunch and didn't come. And now you have no lunch." She turned to Brooke. "Any time a girl in your room has setup or cleanup duty for your table, you are to take her place. Now go get your table some food."

Brooke glared at Jennifer and the boys who had ratted her out. Then she trudged off to do as she was told.

At Table 3, Hayleigh laughed. "Serves her right!"

"I can't believe she didn't come," Mandy said.

"I hope everyone at that table hates her right now." Lacey grinned. "Say goodbye to your friends Brooke!"

Kelsey shook her head. "They'll probably tell their parents, who will complain to someone. And then something will get changed. It is the order of their lives."

Hayleigh just shook her head and resumed her daydream about Tyler. The more time she spent around him, the more she liked him. He was so cute, and funny, and sweet, and smart, and…

Jennifer's voice, about a hundred times louder with a microphone, blasted through the dining hall.

"You will now go to the rock-climbing wall. Along with another counselor, John here, I will show you where it is. We will also belay for you as you climb. Everyone come on!"

Hayleigh hadn't even noticed that the boys had cleaned up the tables already. Whoops. But the news about rock-climbing made her happy. She was an expert rock-climber.

Time to show off!

"Does anyone have any questions?" John had just finished explaining the proper climbing technique. Thirty heads shook back and forth. "Good. Who would like to go first?"

Hayleigh's hand shot up. Jennifer called her over, and strapped her into the harness. John grabbed the ropes.

"Go!" he told her.

Hayleigh scrambled up the wall. It was a little hard at first. This wall was so different than the ones she climbed every summer. But she soon settled into the rhythm, making sure her legs carried most of her weight. She was at the top of the wall in less than thirty seconds. Her classmates looked on in awe.

With a smug smile, she propelled herself down again. Her friends, and a few of the boys (including, Hayleigh was happy to see, Tyler) started cheering. Hayleigh sat down again, content.

The rest of the day passed quickly. The girls had been so exhausted that they had just dropped off to sleep as soon as they got back to their rooms that night.

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The cabins were all dark, their occupants fast asleep. Only the moon lit up the camp and its surrounding forest. And behind the cabin where the Guardians stayed, the moon glinted off the armor of a dozen soldiers. They were tall and bulky, and their gray skin and expressionless faces made them resemble rocks. But these soldiers were not of this world. That was made evident by their clawed fingers and elf-like ears.

One was obviously the leader. He stood in front of the rest, and was taller and more muscled. His armor was different also. He wore a helmet topped with an iron replica of Nerissa's symbol. The leader showed his men a photo of Tyler.

"The Keeper of the Heart is very attached to this one," he growled. He gestured at three soldiers. "Granfle, Harnet, Kerson! Get him, and bring him back to our cave. We will be there." He turned to the others. "Come on, let's get back before daybreak."

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Morning dawned bright and clear. The alarm clock Kelsey had brought beeped noisily from its spot on the desk. Hayleigh threw her pillow at it. It fell behind the desk but continued beeping. Finally, she got up and turned it off. She stared out the window.

It was a gorgeous day. The sun was shining, touching every tiny flower and making it burst with color and sweet scent. A cool breeze blew in through the open window.

But then why did she feel so… wrong?

Just then, Mandy woke also. She blinked groggily at Hayleigh.

"You know, your necklace thing is glowing," Mandy told Hayleigh calmly, too tired for those words to have any impact on her.

Hayleigh looked down at her hand, which was resting on the desk. Sure enough, a vivid pink light was shinning out from under it. She lifted it, examining the fire within the orb. What was going on? Surely there was no evil on her school field trip.

Well, besides Brooke, Callie, and Alison. But never mind them.

The door flew open. Hayleigh quickly stuffed the Heart in a desk drawer. Mrs. Roan, the much loved science teacher, was standing in the doorway, looking worried.

"Have you seen Tyler?" she asked.

Hayleigh's mind flashed to the glowing Heart of Candracar. Whatever evil was around, it had taken Tyler! She shook her head.

"Oh. Well, have a nice day girls." Mrs. Roan started to shut the door.

"Wait!" Mandy said. She was now fully awake and standing next to Hayleigh. Mrs. Roan stopped. "Tell us everything you know, please!"

The teacher hesitated, but only slightly. She was outspoken and known for telling her students everything.

"Alright. This morning, Matt came to me and said that Tyler wasn't in his bed, or anywhere in the room. And his shoes weren't gone, so he must have been taken. Oh, and this note was left on his bed. But it probably won't be much help. I can't understand a word of it."

Mrs. Roan handed Hayleigh the note.

_Guardians, if you want your little boyfriend back, we'll meet you at the cave. Don't worry, you'll find it. Oh, and we want the Heart. So bring it. _

The note was signed with Nerissa's symbol, which was seared into it as if with a branding iron.

As she read it, the girl paled. She swayed, but luckily Mrs. Roan noticed nothing unusual.

"Can we keep this note?" asked Mandy, discreetly supporting Hayleigh.

Mrs. Roan nodded, and left the room. Hayleigh got over her dizziness, but her face remained very white. She retrieved the Heart of Candracar from the drawer.

"They've got him, Mandy," she whispered. "They've got him."

Mandy woke Julia, Kelsey and Lacey, telling them about Tyler and showing them the note. Hayleigh snapped out of her trance and laid out her plan.

"We have free time right after breakfast, right? That's a perfect time to stage our rescue. We'll go to the cave, not transformed. Then Julia, you'll spy, find out where he is. Then we will distract them, draw them out of the cave. They'll leave Tyler behind, and I'll go and get him. Okay?"

The girls nodded but Mandy spoke up.

"But that means… he'll see us in Guardian form. He'll know out secret."

Hayleigh chewed on her thumbnail. "That can't be helped. We can't just leave him there, and it will take all our powers to get him out."

Mandy nodded. "You're right. Free time it is."

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**Okay so that chapter was sort of pointless, except the last bit. Just a peek into the normal lives of the Guardians. Review please! Praise and constructive criticism welcome! **


	11. The Truth

**I'm so sorry everyone! Starting school has been really hectic for me, so I haven't gotten a chance to update. Thank you to all of my reviewers! I love hearing from you. And to make up for my absence, here's a nice long chapter. **

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**Chapter 11**

All through breakfast, conversation was quiet and tense. Matt noticed that Kelsey and her friends seemed uneasy. It was if they knew something even more sinister than anyone could imagine. And he had a feeling it had something to do with Tyler's disappearance.

That's why, when the five girls slipped away, Matt followed them. They trekked through the woods, then stopped about a half a mile away from the dining hall. The boy quickly ducked behind a large tree.

"Julia!" whispered Hayleigh. "Go close to the cave and see if you can tell where Tyler is."

But Julia wasn't listening to Hayleigh. She stood, staring into the distance, one hand cupped around her ear.

"They're reviewing a plan… the spot they showed us is not the real entrance to their cave… their entrance will be hidden, and they will sneak up behind us… Tyler is in the back of the cave… a soldier just told him to stay put while they were gone…" Julia spoke in short phrases, as if she were putting together these bits of information in her mind and not telling them to her friends.

The girls stared in disbelief.

"How did you hear that Julia?" asked Lacey. "We're still about five minutes away from the cave.

Julia shook her head. "I don't know. I heard something, and I concentrated on listening. And then I could hear everything!"

"Alright then, skip that part of the plan. You guys have to distract them, and I'll get Tyler. Okay?"

"Wait!" said Julia. "Do we transform?"

Matt blinked in confusion. Transform?

"No. We'll stay like this. Tyler won't see us in Guardian form unless it is absolutely necessary."

Julia nodded. "Come on, let's go distract the guards!"

The four of them ran off to the cave entrance. Hayleigh stayed behind. She took a deep breath, and then ran off in a different direction.

Matt followed close behind her. She twisted through a patch of thick trees, and then stopped again.

In front of her was the mouth of a large cave. She could see that the soldiers were already distracted. Her friends had done their job well, tossing bits of water and fire at them, creating whipping winds, and ordering trees to swipe them over.

Hayleigh snuck past the absorbed guards and into the cave. It was very dark and cool. Stone walls rose around her, making her feel secure and claustrophobic at the same time.

She walked about twenty feet before she saw a shadowy figure hunched up by the wall. Hayleigh crept closer, hoping it was Tyler and not another guard.

Her hope came true. The shape was Tyler. He shifted, seeing that she wasn't a soldier.

"Hello?" he said softly. "Who is that?"

"It's Hayleigh. What happened?"

Tyler smiled, although it was invisible in the gloom of the cave. Hayleigh had come to his rescue! "I don't really remember," he told her. "I was sleeping, and then, when I woke up, I was here! The soldiers paid no attention to me, so I just sat here."

"Why didn't you run away?" she asked. Tyler gestured at his feet with difficulty, as they were tied up. His ankles were also bound with thick ropes.

"Oh."

"Yeah. So can you untie me?"

"Um, of course! Sorry!" she stuttered.

"It's fine." As she loosened the ropes, he massaged his wrists. "Those ropes hurt!"

A shout from outside sounded through the cave.

"Uh-oh," muttered Hayleigh. She pulled Tyler to his feet. "Come on, let's go!"

They raced through the cave to the forest outside. The scene they were met with was not pleasant. The four girls were bound to trees with the same thick rope Tyler had been tied with. Their powers weren't strong enough to fight that many guards when they weren't transformed.

Someone else was tied to a tree. Hayleigh gasped when she saw him.

"Matt? What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "I followed you."

But now the guards saw them. Hayleigh gulped.

"I'm sorry you have to see this, Tyler." She held out her hand. The Heart of Candracar appeared, bursting with pink flames in all its glory.

"What is that thing?" he asked.

Hayleigh shook her head. "It's an unbelievably long story. But no time for it now. Guardians, unite!"

Tyler looked on, not able to comprehend what he was seeing. First, rays of fire shot out of the charm that Hayleigh was holding. They flew around her until she began to float. Then the necklace thing drifted away from her and separated into five teardrops. The turquoise one flew to Mandy, the orange one to Lacey, the green one to Kelsey, and the blue one to Julia. The ropes tying them to the trees snapped. The four girls were lifted up also, and wrapped in light the color of their teardrop. The last teardrop, fuchsia in color, formed a fiery orb around Hayleigh. She curled up in a tight ball. Something was happening to her, but he couldn't tell what it was through the globe of light surrounding her.

Then she was free, and he saw what had happened to her. Hayleigh was taller, and older looking. Her hair was longer and curlier, and her freckles were gone. And her outfit was very… odd to say the least.

Then it hit him. They were the girls who had saved the school. The ones that all the boys had been talking about. No wonder she kept changing the subject whenever that day was mentioned.

Hayleigh saw him staring, and gave him an apologetic smile. Then she launched into the air, her wings a multi-colored blur behind her.

"Hey ugly!" she yelled to the leader of the soldiers. He looked around in bewilderment as she zipped over his head. "Over here!" He finally found her, only to get a blast of energy in the face.

Kelsey went immediately to Matt, who was still tied to a tree. She ripped the ropes, and then grabbed his shoulders, flying him over to Tyler. Setting him down, she studied both of them.

"Better safe than sorry." Raising one hand, she shot a bolt of green at the ground beneath their feet. It shook, and both boys nearly fell over.

But before they could hit the earth, a tree erupted from the soil. Its branches securely cradled the two boys high above the battle.

"Perfect." Then she strode over to a soldier. Crouching, she placed both hands on the earth. Green light sparkled. A vine thrust through the ground, grabbing two soldiers on its way up. They struggled, but couldn't get free. Kelsey laughed, and went to help her friends.

Lacey was busy flaming all the guards' weapons. She hit each one with orange light until it turned red, and its bearer dropped it in shock and pain.

Mandy was making large watery bubbles, while Julia filled them with air. They pushed the bubbles around the trees, and they absorbed every soldier they touched. Soon they were all enclosed in bubbles.

"Good work girls," Hayleigh said, holding up the Heart. Energy shot from it, and a portal opened before them. The girls rolled the bubbles through the portal.

Kelsey touched the tree she had created, and it sank slowly into the soil, releasing the boys.

"What just happened?" Tyler asked.

"What was that blue thing?" Matt wanted to know.

Hayleigh sighed. "Well, alright. Since you saw it…" She took a deep breath. She had a lot of explaining to do.

"Earth isn't the only world," she began. "There are other worlds. One of those worlds is called Metamoore."

"Is that where those… things came from?" Tyler interrupted.

"Yes. Anyway, Metamoore was once taken over by an evil prince, named Phobos. A Veil was created to protect Earth. But the Veil needed strength. So Guardians were chosen to strengthen it and repair it when holes formed. After years of rebellion in Metamoore, the Guardians and the Metamoorian rebels overthrew Phobos. The Veil was destroyed, because the rightful princess, the Light of Meridian, was back on the throne, and all was well."

Matt blinked. "Slow down a bit."

Hayleigh shrugged. "I told you it was a long story. But there is another evil. Nerissa was one of the first Guardians. But she went bad. Now she has taken over the throne of Metamoore, and the Light is missing. The Veil has been recreated, but it is weak. There are many holes. That blue thing was one of the holes, a portal. That's where we come in. We are the current Guardians. Mandy has power over water, Lacey has power over fire, Kelsey has power over Earth, and Julia has power over air."

"What about you?" asked Matt.

"I am the Keeper of the Heart of Candracar. Oh yeah. This," she held up the Heart, "is the Heart of Candracar. It is the key to our powers."

The boys just stared, struck dumb.

Hayleigh smiled. "I know how you feel. Just imagine finding all this out plus discovering that you are the one with magical powers and a responsibility to save the world."

Suddenly, something rolled back out of the portal in a flash of blue. The soldier inside was attacking it with his sword, and it was obviously weakening.

"Oh, why didn't we close the portal?" Hayleigh moaned.

Lacey rushed towards the bubble, ready with firepower. A slash of the sword cut through the prison, and the soldier tumbled out. Right onto Lacey's leg.

"Ahhh!" she shrieked in pain. The others rushed to help. Kelsey called a tree branch to lift the soldier off of Lacey and throw him through the portal. Hayleigh let the Heart float above her palm and the blue light disappeared.

Mandy and Julia knelt next to Lacey, and were joined by Kelsey and Hayleigh in the next minutes.

"You okay Lace?" Kelsey asked softly, squeezing her friend's hand.

Lacey nodded and sat up, wincing. "What are we going to tell everyone?" she asked.

Mandy bit her lip, deep in thought. "How about we say…"

* * *

"Tyler was sleep walking, so we went to find him. The note was a prank, we think," Mandy told Mrs. Roan, upon her question of where they had been.

The red haired teacher gestured toward Lacey, who was sitting on a chair, her ankle now wrapped in a bandage from the nurse's station. "And how did she badly sprain her ankle?"

"I… I fell!" Lacey answered quickly. "Actually, I stepped in a hole, and twisted my ankle. I guess it wasn't twisted though. It was sprained."

Mrs. Roan looked skeptical. Finally she sighed.

"Well, you shouldn't have gone off all alone. I'll have to give you all three weeks of detention when we get back. And you must tell your parents, or I'll call them."

The girls nodded, happy that Mrs. Roan was a particualarly gullible teacher. Their secret was safe. Everything was fine. Only Tyler and Matt knew, and they weren't telling. Hopefully.

"Go back to your rooms now. We're going to lunch in a few minutes.

Brooke watched as the girls passed her open door.

"There is something strange about them," she declared. Callie nodded in agreement.

Alison thought back to the girl she had met. "Remember that necklace? That definitely had something to do with it."

"And it shouldn't have glowed," Callie pointed out. "There was no light bulb inside, and no battery. The way she just pulled it out of nowhere…"

Brooke had already tiptoed past her room. She put one ear to the Guardians' closed door.

'Well, our secret is safe," Hayleigh said, sitting on her bed and hugging her knees. The orb was floating above her hands.

"Matt and Tyler know, though. They even saw us transformed."

"Yeah, but, come on Mands. They're trustworthy. Who would they tell?" Kelsey put in, to defend her boyfriend.

"And who would believe them?" Julia added.

Outside the door, the eavesdroppers giggled. "Maybe they do voodoo rituals or something!" Brooke whispered.

Alison frowned. "I think… that they are magical!"

The other two looked at her and then at each other.

"Brooke, she thinks their magical!" Callie laughed, and Brooke joined her.

Back in the room, Hayleigh was pacing. "We need to figure out what our job is. We can't just keep waiting for her to attack us."

Julia thought back to the video. "Wasn't their something about a Light of Meridian? Meridian is the capital city of Metamoore."

Brooke elbowed Callie, telling her silently to listen. This was good stuff here.

Hayleigh paused and nodded. "You're right. And we need to find this Light of Meridian."

"And how are we going to do that?"

The leader sat down and bent over. Tousled waves hid her face completely. "I don't know, Mandy," she said, from inside her protective cocoon of hair. "I really don't know."

"Well," Julia began. "If you were hiding a person, where would you put them?"

Kelsey laughed at how this sounded. "How many of us have actually tried to hide a person?" She rested her chin on her hand thoughtfully. "Except ourselves, I guess."

Hayleigh sat up again. "We need answers! And we need help!"

A single word seemed to echo through the room. Outside, the three girls wondered at the almost reverent silence coming from their enemies. But the Guardians all heard it.

_Candracar._

They stepped towards one another. Hayleigh released the Heart in the center of their circle. Hands clasped. A beam of radiant energy seemed to reach from each girl's heart to the pendant.

_Candracar._

The word wrapped around them like of Julia's breezes. The air was filled with longings and fears. And then…

_Candracar._

Callie couldn't take it anymore. Patience was never her strong point. She twisted the brass knob and opened the wooden door.

"What are you…?"

_Candracar._

They were gone.

* * *

**So there it is. I hope you enjoy! **

**I was just wondering, which character of mine is your favorite? Why? **

**You don't really have to answer if you don't want to, but I want to know who's the favorite. **


	12. Across the AirColored Bridge

**I'm such a bad author for keeping you all waiting. **

**DayDreamer9: Thanks for voting and for the donation. :) **

**Mew Cinnamon: I appreciate your applause. Thanks for voting. And I like the 'New Chapter Foundation' **

**I feel so loved, and I bet Hayleigh and Julia do too. So without anymore comments from me, I present to you chapter twelve. **

* * *

**Chapter Twelve-Across the Air-Colored Bridge**

Lacey sat up in her bed. She felt dazed and floaty. What was going on?

This wasn't her bed. At least, it didn't look like the one she had always known. This one was a full-size bed instead of her usual twin. Normally, it wouldn't have fit in her room. But it went well with her new, bigger room.

Nevertheless, she could sense that she was home. Or, home for her dream self. For she was sure that this was a dream. Especially when her dad appeared in the doorway.

"Good morning, sweetie!" Was he forgetting the fights over custody, the arguments that were so common between them? He never let her out when she stayed with him, claiming he wanted to spend time with her. And yet, while she stayed home, missing out on all the fun, he watched TV alone and she did homework. Father daughter time. Right.

"Lacey?" He looked at her with the air of someone who had asked the same question more than once. "I asked you if you wanted pancakes for breakfast."

Lacey snapped back to attention. "Uh… yeah, sure Dad. Thanks."

She stood up and padded after her dad. Wow, her new house was big. Since when did her dad's new family have this much money?

That's when she got the shock of her life. They had reached the kitchen. And the woman standing there was not Judy, her stepmother. It was…

"Mom?" Lacey sputtered in disbelief.

The woman turned away from the stove. "Yes honey?"

An accusing finger pointed from one adult to the other. "You… and dad," Lacey finally managed to get out.

"What?" She looked confused.

"Mom!" Lacey practically shouted. "You and dad have been divorced since I was three! Dad remarried! He has a stepdaughter and a daughter!"

A kindly head shake was all she got. "Oh, you had a nightmare, didn't you?"

Was being a Guardian a nightmare? Well, it definitely had its bad times.

A girl of about four walked into the room.

"Tricia?" What the heck? Tricia was her half-sister. Judy's daughter.

"Why's everyone yelling?" the little girl asked.

Lacey wanted to answer her. But a strange voice came to her mind.

_Come…_

Her parents' faces grew worried. The girl was fading from this world quickly.

_Come now. Time is running out. _

"Mom! Dad! Tricia!"

* * *

Kelsey sat down, looking up at Matt expectantly. He said he had something to tell her.

"Yeah, Matt?"

The boy ran a hand through his short, spiky dark hair. He was so adorable! But why did he look so… sad?

"Kelsey, I…" He began to pace. The earth guardian began to fear the words that would come next.

"You're a great girl, you know. But…"

Why was she getting a memory from this? It was strong in her mind, like it had happened yesterday.

_FLASHBACK_

_Blondie: hi keith!_

_Tumbledude: hey wat sup _

_Blondie: nm, u?_

_Tumbledude: kels, I have 2 tell u sumthin_

_Blondie: what is it, keith?_

_Tumbledude: i don't luv u ne more_

_Blondie: what?????_

_Tumbledude: i m braking up w/ u_

_Blondie has signed off. _

_END OF FLASHBACK_

It was funny how well she remembered that. Her boyfriend hadn't even had the decency to talk to her in person. He had broken up with her online.

Matt seemed to gain the right words. And they sounded painfully familiar.

"I… I just don't love you anymore."

Kelsey had the same reaction as she had the first time. "What?!?" A tear fell from her hazel eyes.

"I think we should break up." He sighed. "Goodbye, Kelsey." He leaned into kiss her cheek.

She hit him surprisingly hard for a girl that looked so skinny. He jumped back, one hand on his cheek. Wiping tears away, Kelsey sprinted away. Suddenly, she dissolved into nothingness.

* * *

Mandy, Julia, Lacey, and Kelsey stood in front of her. Their faces were familiar… but they wore expressions she had never witnessed before.

Hayleigh greeted her friends anyway, with a happy smile and a loud, "Hey guys!"

Simultaneously, the turned their cruel sneering faces towards her. What was up with them? She started to feel uneasy.

"Um… guys? You okay?"

"We're fine, Hayleigh," they all snapped. Sheesh, what was with the robotic-ness?

"Oh…" She had no clue what to say. "It's just that you look a little… angry."

Mandy stepped forward, eyes blazing. "We are angry!"

Kelsey glared at Hayleigh. "How could we not be, when you, a little pudgy nobody, get to be our leader?"

Hayleigh was shocked. "B-b-but… I thought we were friends!" Her blue eyes filled with tears.

Julia, one of the nicest people she knew, would certainly take her side. But no. The pretty girl stood next to the other two. "Friends?" She laughed scornfully. The rest joined in. "Why would we be friends with you?"

Out of nowhere, three more laughing figures appeared. They belonged to Callie, Brooke, and Alison. Hayleigh advanced on them angrily.

"I know! This is some sort of evil joke. But you'd better stop… NOW!"

"It's not a joke," Lacey told her. "Those three are our real friends. They don't pretend their better than us because of some stupid powers."

Hayleigh's eyes burned with red fire. Her body and brain were not connected anymore. The real her was watching from the sidelines as she proceeded to destroy her so-called friends. Was that a good thing, or no?

_It's time._

The same misty voice that had… wait, where had she heard that voice before?

_Candracar._

She was headed to the great temple of Candracar.

* * *

**So there you have it. A little chance to see the characters more in-depth. Their fears and deepest desires. Enjoy! And whoever didn't put a vote in for their favorite character is welcome to do that. **


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